Paris Fashion Week 2026 Recap
By Ally Deacon, Head of PR & Communications • 14/10/2026
More Than A Fashion Moment
Paris Fashion Week never disappoints. From the world's most influential fashion houses to the emerging designers rewriting the rules, the city delivers some of the most exciting fashion moments of the season, both on and off the runway.
But between the seemingly endless schedule of shows, presentations and events, two things stood out to us this year: the unmistakable individuality of Parisian street style and a special moment for Australian design on the international stage.
Of course, Bared was spotted throughout the week, styled in ways that made us look twice. From statement boots to beautifully considered loafers, the streets of Paris offered plenty of inspiration.
Beyond the runways, something particularly meaningful was taking shape. Bared partnered with First Nations fashion label NGALI to support its first Paris presentation as part of the Australian Fashion Council's Australian Fashion Room. Together, we invited four First Nations artists to transform our footwear into hand-painted works of art, bringing their stories, culture and creative expression to one of fashion's most influential stages.
From the streets to the showroom, here's how it all unfolded.
NGALI in Paris: Art Without Borders
Some of the most extraordinary moments at Fashion Week happen far beyond the runway.
This season, Australian First Nations fashion label NGALI was among 12 Australian designers selected for the Australian Fashion Council's inaugural Australian Fashion Room, held at Galerie Poggi from 30 September to 4 October.
For five days, the gallery became a meeting place for Australian creativity and the international fashion industry. Among the collections was something particularly close to our hearts.
In partnership with NGALI, Bared had four First Nations artists to reimagine our footwear as their own creative canvas.
The result? A collection of hand-painted shoes where colour, culture and storytelling came together in the most unexpected way.
Each artist brought their own perspective, with the designs carrying stories of Country, family and connection across continents.
Four Artists. Four Stories. One Creative Canvas
Lyn Thorpe
Galnya Waka Wala Woka, Beautiful River Country
For Yorta Yorta artist Lyn Thorpe, art is a way of sharing stories, building relationships and deepening our understanding of Country.
Working across textiles, painting, photography and digital media, Lyn's creative practice explores the connections between people, culture and place.
Her hand-painted Coquette loafers brought this storytelling into a new form, translating her artistic expression onto a beautifully unexpected canvas.
Simone Thomson
Ngarrak, Mountain
Melbourne-based Naarm artist Simone Thomson draws inspiration from the textures and colours of the Australian landscape.
Her work reflects the ancestral connections to the Birrarung, Dhungala and Murrumbidgee Rivers, weaving together knowledge and stories passed through generations of her family.
For Paris, Simone transformed Bared's Sterna ballet flats and Calandra White heels, bringing the spirit of Country into the world of contemporary footwear.
Mya Falla
Songlines
Gifted the name Muguy, meaning constant in her traditional language, Mya Falla is a young contemporary artist with a deep curiosity for culture, Country and creative expression.
Drawing inspiration from her home in Dulgu-burra Yidinji Country, in the rainforest and crater lake region inland of Gimuy (Cairns), Mya works with colour and texture to reflect her experiences and the stories around her.
Her interpretation of Bared's Surfbird ballet flats brought a fresh perspective to the collection, with a beautiful pink colourway that felt right at home in Paris.
Tahnee Day
Waiting For Her To Get Back To Me
Multidisciplinary artist Tahnee Day, a Gunggari, Wemba Wemba and Barkindji woman, explores colour, pattern and detail through painting, makeup, fashion and textiles.
Her work featured in the 2025 exhibition Stitchin Stories: Blak & Thready, with her creative practice continuing to find expression across unexpected mediums.
For the collaboration, Tahnee transformed Bared's Turnstone sandals, creating another unique expression of her work for an international audience.
The Response in Paris
The collection quickly became a talking point inside the Australian Fashion Room.
International buyers and industry visitors stopped to examine the intricate designs, read the artists' stories and learn more about the creative collaboration.
As NGALI founder Denni Francisco explains:
"The hand-painted shoes brought another dimension of Australian creativity into the showroom and gave four artists an unexpected platform in Paris."
The response was exactly what the collaboration had hoped to inspire.
"They sparked curiosity, conversation and genuine engagement, exactly what we had hoped they would do."
With buyers and representatives from major department stores in New York, London and Dubai visiting throughout the week, the presentation offered an important opportunity for Australian designers and artists to reach new audiences.
And perhaps that was the real beauty of it. Four distinct creative voices, each with a story to tell, finding a new audience on the other side of the world.
Customised in Paris:
When Art Takes To The Street
From the gallery to the grand boulevards, our collaboration with NGALI found another life on the streets of Paris.
Fashion creator Sharlene Baloch (@sharlene.baloch) brought the collection into the Fashion Week conversation, wearing three of the custom designs throughout the week.
Lyn Thorpe's hand-painted Coquette loafers, Simone Thomson's Calandra White heels and her customised Sterna ballet flats each offered a different interpretation of wearable art.
And in a city where fashion is practically a second language, these were shoes with something entirely new to say.
There was something wonderful about seeing these creations move beyond the gallery walls. Pieces rooted in Australian Country and storytelling, finding their place among the beautiful unpredictability of Paris Fashion Week.
Because the most interesting fashion doesn't simply make you look twice. It makes you curious about the story behind it.
Street Styles At Paris Fashion Week 2026
If the runways tell us where fashion is going, the streets of Paris show us how we'll get there.
And this season? The fashion crowd was having fun.
After a month of shows across New York, London and Milan, Paris delivered a welcome dose of individuality. Romantic fabrics met oversized leather, polished tailoring took unexpected turns and accessories were anything but an afterthought.
There were three trends we couldn't stop watching.
The New Romantics
Romance returned, but with a distinctly modern attitude.
Delicate slip skirts, flowing dresses and soft fabrics were everywhere, often paired with something decidedly tougher. Think silk against leather, feminine silhouettes grounded by substantial boots and a little undone styling to keep things interesting.
Our interpretation? A silk maxi dress and a beautiful pair of knee-high boots. More on that shortly.
The Art Of The Unexpected
Perfectly matched outfits? Paris had other ideas.
This season embraced personality through unexpected proportions, playful layering and the glorious return of eclectic dressing.
From patchwork fabrics to oversized silhouettes and clashing textures, the best looks had something wonderfully individual about them.
Our favourite finishing touch? A classic loafer, made infinitely more interesting with a contrasting sock.
Power Dressing, Reimagined
The white shirt, the pencil skirt, the perfectly cut jacket. Familiar pieces found new personalities in Paris.
This wasn't traditional corporate dressing. It was tailoring with a sense of humour, softened by unexpected layers, statement jewellery and shoes that brought the whole look together.
From leather skirts to reworked classics, the street style set made a convincing case for dressing with intention, without taking it all too seriously.
A beautifully cut boot beneath a pencil skirt? Consider us convinced.
Spotted In Bared
The Paris Street Style Edit
Of course, we couldn't talk about Paris Fashion Week without mentioning a few familiar shoes making their way through the city.
From rich mahogany boots to classic loafers with an unexpected twist, these were the looks that caught our eye.
Hayley Peppin:
Silk, Leather And A Little Drama
Some combinations simply belong together. Silk and leather, Paris and Fashion Week, a beautiful dress and an even better boot.
Hayley Peppin made a convincing case for all three.
Wearing Bared's Tern Black Boots, Hayley paired a flowing cream silk maxi dress with an oversized leather bomber jacket, a tasseled brown leather handbag and her signature sunglasses.
The contrast was everything. Softness met structure, romance met attitude and the boots brought the whole look down to earth.
It was precisely the kind of dressing we love seeing in Paris. A little unexpected, wonderfully considered and entirely her own.
Wearing:
Tern Black Boots
Instagram: @hayleypeppin
Diana Slabunova:
A Lesson In Parisian Nonchalance
Leave it to Diana Slabunova to make a white shirt feel like the most interesting thing in the room.
Spotted in Bared's Cacique Mahogany boots, Diana paired an oversized white shirt with a pencil skirt, casually tying a red jumper around her waist.
A structured black handbag and sculptural water-drop earrings completed the look.
It was a masterclass in the art of looking beautifully put together without appearing to have tried too hard.
The rich mahogany boots added warmth and depth to the otherwise restrained palette, proving that sometimes the smallest styling decisions make the biggest impression.
Wearing:
Cacique Mahogany Boots
Instagram: @cmondiana
Sarah Stephens:
The Parisian Uniform, Reimagined
There's something about the way Parisian women dress that never loses its appeal. The understated confidence, the perfectly considered details and that unmistakable sense of personal style.
Sarah Stephens captured the mood in Bared's Curruca loafers, pairing them with a chic, distinctly Parisian ensemble.
A little classic, a little contemporary and proof that sometimes the most memorable Fashion Week looks are the ones that don't demand attention.
With their timeless silhouette, the Curruca loafers brought a beautifully polished finishing touch to a look that felt right at home on the streets of Paris.
Wearing: Curruca Loafers
Instagram: @sarahstephens7
Wen Yi Teong:
A Little Eccentricity Goes A Long Way
Paris has always had a soft spot for the unexpected, and Wen Yi Teong understood the assignment.
Wearing Bared's Emutail loafers, Wen brought together a plaid patchwork skirt, cropped white double-layer tee, oversized sunglasses and a beautifully considered satchel bag.
The finishing touch? Khaki socks peeking out above her loafers.
A little preppy, a little playful and full of personality.
With unconventional layering and clever proportions defining so much of the week's street style, Wen's look felt perfectly in step with the mood of Paris.
Proof that a classic loafer doesn't have to play by the rules.
Wearing: Emutail Loafers
Instagram: @wenyiteong
Sharlene Baloch:
The Art Of Making An Entrance
Some outfits are made to be noticed.
Sharlene Baloch delivered a moment of sculptural drama in Bared's Pandion Chocolate Croc boots, styled with a white shift dress featuring exaggerated shoulder pads and oversized accessories.
The result was sharp, striking and wonderfully theatrical.
The rich texture of the chocolate croc boots provided a beautiful contrast to the clean white silhouette, bringing an edge to an otherwise minimalist palette.
Alongside her custom NGALI x Bared looks, Sharlene gave us another reason to love the freedom of Paris Fashion Week.
Wearing: Pandion Chocolate Croc Boots
Instagram: @sharlene.baloch
Until Next Season Paris
Nine days, countless extraordinary looks and one very special Australian story.
Paris Fashion Week reminded us that fashion is at its most exciting when different perspectives come together.
For Bared, watching four First Nations artists share their creativity on an international stage was a moment to treasure. Seeing our shoes become part of the city's extraordinary street style was another.
From Australian Country to the streets of Paris, what a beautiful journey.
Until next season,
